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In my last post, Blood Sugar Control - Understanding Blood Sugar, we went over the basics of sugar and the effects of our hormone insulin has on blood sugar. The big take-a-way of it all is that our goal is to have balanced blood sugar in order to help bring the rest of our health into balance - to protect our waistlines, our heart health, and reduce our systemic inflammation. There are many ways to do this, but as a functional medicine trained nutritionist I always "back it up" to basics and start at the beginning.   LIFESTYLE MODIFICATIONS FOR BALANCING BLOOD SUGAR Dietary Considerations Eating a balanced diet rich in fiber, heart healthy fat and plenty of lean proteins is crucial in balancing sugar. As you increase protein and fat, your satiety increases and your desire for sugars decrease. CROWD IN leafy greens, colorful whole fruits and vegetables to CROWD OUT sugary drinks and processed foods. If you want to change your health - you are going to have to change your habits. There is no negotiating here, however going cold turkey may be a recipe for disaster. We have found that the concept of crowding in new behaviors helps to ultimately crowd out bad ones. Try not to focus on SUBTRACTING OUT the foods and habits that do not serve your health, but rather look at ways to ADD IN healthier things. Find ways to make vegetables and fruits the center of your diet, accessorize with lean proteins and heart healthy fats. If you are a hamburger and fry freak - there is no way that having you switch to salads 4 times a day is going to work for you... right now. You will find that you start to order your burger dinner differently if you take an additive approach. Start by ADDING IN a side salad to your burger and fry meal. Do not SUBTRACT the fries, but eat the salad first, then you can eat as much of the fries as you are comfortable with. By CROWDING IN the good stuff and not DENYING yourself the less than optimal stuff - you naturally avoid triggering the reptilian brain that is there to stop you from making too many changes too fast. If you are a 2 donuts for breakfast person - ADD IN fresh fruit first then go ahead and eat your donuts. You will find that naturally your CROWDING IN the nutrient dense whole foods will lead to CROWDING OUT of the fatty fried foods and processed food like substances we are used to eating. If you are a 6-pack of diet soda a day person, ADD IN sparkling or flavored water (using fresh fruit to infuse your water) or unsweetened tea in between your sodas. You will find that you are consuming fewer calories and doing less harm, and over time you drink more of the water/tea/etc and less of the diet soda. Crowd In... but Brown Out. It is ok to love your starches, but switching out white for color is your best nutritional bet in foods. Brown rice, whole wheat (if you are OK with gluten), steel cut oats - these are all examples of foods with many branches of fiber in them, slowing down the digestive process allowing for a slower, more steady burn of your energy fire. White rice, white flour, instant oatmeal all digest very quickly which means that the limiter on the glucose entering your bloodstream is basically non-existent. The longer it takes to cook (sorry if you are an instant oatmeal fan) the longer the glucose will take to circulate, lowering your insulin release response. Additionally all that heart healthy fiber is going to be wonderful for your digestive system! FAT! FIBER! PROTEIN! The key to balance is to make sure that you are eating plenty of fat, fiber and protein in your diet. Notice that I did not mention carbohydrates, but rather said fiber. This is because we get so hung up on carbohydrates that we ignore that they provide us a KEY element in regulating our blood sugar, keeping our digestive system on track, and feeding our gut's microbiome. Fiber is no joke. The key is to eat foods lower on the Glycemix Index list, eat plenty of protein (about 0.75-1g per lb of lean body weight), and add in heart healthy fats and fatty acids to every meal to keep blood sugar nice and steady.   If you are a fan of a morning smoothie or juice, all is not lost. You can ADD IN some upgrades to keep your tasty morning kick off without dropping a literal sugar bomb into your gut.  Courtesy of Andrea Nakayama, Functional Nutrition Alliance I Like to Move It Move It Exercise also helps move the glucose into our muscles, improving our response to insulin. This is in part due to the GLUT transporters. The GLUTx transporters are the enacted during different processes and they shuttle glycogen to where it needs to be in order to be used as fuel for the varying systems. Doing some body weight work such as push ups or light dumbbell work such as arm curls can activate GLUT4 transporters moving the glucose into the muscles being used! TARGETED SUPPLEMENTATION FOR BLOOD SUGAR CONTROL Sometimes we need a little #betterlivingthroughchemistry to help support our efforts. My Top Hitters for Glucose Control: Chromium picolinate has been shown to reduce insulin resistance and to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
Chelated Magnesium Glycinate has been shown to be one of the most efficacious magnesium supplements out there to improve intercellular Mg levels without digestive system upset.
Glucoresolve by Biotics Research is a new product for insulin resistance and stimulating AMPK but could also be used as a daily multi for those dealing with insulin resistance or blood sugar stability issues.
 By making small changes daily that add up to sustainable change long term, you will be able to control your blood sugar, reduce your inflammation and live a truly shining life! In health! Jenniferlyn Kryvicky, MS, CFSPP, CHHC Certified Functional Nutritionist
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There is an innate problem with refined sugar. It increases system inflammation, contributes to hormonal dysregulation, reduces dental health, and can cause weight gain due to all the above. Taking control of your blood sugar does not mean living a life free from sweet! What you will learn about is how to fight cravings and balance your blood sugars so that you have a shining bright life! THE SCIENCE OF SUGAR  Anything ending with an -ose is a saccharide, a sugar. The Monosaccharides are Glucose, which is blood sugar (Dextrose is similar); Galactose, milk sugar; and Fructose, fruit sugar . These are sigular molecules. When 2 mono's are bonded together, they are called disaccharides which are Sucrose, Glucose + Fructose; Maltose, two Glucolses; and Lactose, Galactose + Glucose. When multiple molecules are bonded repeatedly, they are called polysaccharides. There are also sugar alcohols: Xylitol with the same sweetness as sucrose, Maltitol, Mannitol, and Sorbitol with half the sweetness of sucrose, however have a low glycemic response, therefore often labeled “sugar-free”.WARNING! Can have a laxative effect since they bypass the small intestine, where digestion and absorption take place! The reason these do not affect the blood sugar levels like the other sugars is because these are not sugar - they are sugar alcohols and instead of being processed through the digestive system, they are processed through your liver. And of course there are sugar alternatives known as artificial sweeteners - think Aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal), Sucralose (Splenda), and Sachrain (Sweet 'n' Low). These have all been found to create health issues and honestly should be avoided - so put down the diet soda and sugar-free gum! THE EFFECT OF SUGAR ON BLOOD GLUCOSE AND HORMONES Our bodies release insulin to manage our blood sugar levels at a rate that is consistent with our circadian fluctuations. Meaning that even while we are asleep, our body is attempting to keep everything in balance from the days stressors.  After every thing we eat, our blood sugar levels increase triggering the pancreas to release the hormone insulin to bring the blood sugar level back down. Exercise also affects our blood sugar levels by increasing the muscular use of sugar for fuel, reducing glucose levels. The goal is to keep our blood sugar in a healthy range - this means that we have balanced blood sugar. If we loose control of our glucose levels, then insulin levels rise suddenly resulting in a sudden decrease in glucose resulting in us needing to eat more sugar to increase our glucose levels... this severe peak and valley wreaks havoc on our hormones, our stress levels, and our waist lines!  This is because, as the cycle of peaks and valleys continues, over time our bodies become resistant to the insulin being relieased, so our blood sugar levels become less stable over time requiring more insulin to remove less glucose. When we are in a state of insulin resistance, we gain weight and we are at higher risk of cardiovascular disease thanks to increased systemic inflammation and arterial damage caused by the increase of glucose. When we are in the valleys it is no better as too low blood sugar means that the body loses energy, craves sugar to get the bump in energy, and further increases our weight as the body will become reluctant to release fat. In the next blog post, Blood Sugar Control - Taking Control Back!, we will discuss ways to manage our blood sugar through lifestyle modifications and targeted supplementation.  In health! Jenniferlyn Kryvicky, MS, CFSPP, CHHC Certified Functional Nutritionist  In my last post (Cooling The Fire Within - Part 1: Understanding Stress and the Body) I explained the basic stress response at the hormonal level. Recall that The hypothalamus evaluates a trigger as being a stress (perceived or real) and then starts to secrete CRH which calls to the pituitary gland to secrete ATCH which calls to the adrenal cortex to produce Cortisol. We also discussed how as this keeps happening, such in cases of chronic stress, over time the body starts to steal away the master hormone, stopping it form converting into other necessary hormones such as testosterone, or estrogen, and to create exclusively cortisol in a process called the Cortisol Steal. So we now understand the base physiological process behind stress - again perceived or real - but what can we do in our lifestyle to reduce cortisol and to start to bring the system back into balance? Lifestyle modifications and targeted supplementation for cortisol management (high cortisol) First off, back that baby up and let's start at the beginning with optimizing your diet. By optimizing your diet, I am speaking about taking control of your blood sugar and eating a diet rich in FIBER, heart healthy FAT and plenty of lean PROTEIN. We are aiming for anti-inflammatory as we do not want to increase additional stress at this time.
Next up, look at cutting out caffeine as it increases the physiological stress response. The same goes for alcohol, if you will not eliminate it definitely cut back on it. Next up let's look at lifestyle modification such as reducing your physical stress by switching out high intensity cortisol boosting sports like running, biking, HIIT, and Functional work such as Cross-Fit for stretching, yoga, meditation, journaling. Massages are great tools for cortisol reduction as well! I have an article on breathing for stress reduction here. Adding in adaptogenic herbs in either supplement form or teas.
Vitamins and supplements such as
How to make it work without becoming a walking pharmaceutical? Start with DIET AND LIFESTYLE first - always. Then start to incorporate small changes into your routines to reduce stress. If you make morning smoothies, adding in something like "Amazing Grass brand Greens with Adaptogens" powder will boost your phytonutrients and adaptogens while staying your day off right. Four Sigmatic is a brand of mushroom teas that you can make in replacement of your coffee. You can also replace your coffee with a roasted dandelion tea or a drink called Dandy Blend that is a great not-bitter replacement for coffee. I add in cinnamon (an anti-inflammatory agent that also is critical for blood sugar regulation!) coconut oil, ghee and canned full fat coconut milk to make a balanced and hearty morning drink! My personal favorite drink is Sweet Rose Tulsi Tea - a great way to battle your stress response while increasing fluid intake. It literally even says it's magical right on the label! Tulsi Teas come in many flavors if floral isn't for you. By taking control of your stress you can manage and re-balance your hormones without HRT, expensive blood work, and frustrated efforts. Yes you may need to change your lifestyle to be conducive to stress management, however your quality of life truly depends on YOU and your actions. YOU ARE WORTH IT - and you do not need to feel like a stressed out, frazzled, overweight, unhappy person. In health! Jenniferlyn Kryvicky, MS, CFSPP, CHHC Certified Functional Nutritionist **a word of caution on botanicals such as Rhodiola, they are GRAS (generally regarded as safe) however if you're on medications check to make sure they're not contraindicated or have a conflict with with one another before taking. Check with your Dr. to verify if there is a conflict with your medication and the specific botanical you're taking.
There is a complex science to hormones, however let's back it up to the basics and focus for this example, only on the stress response to the Hypothalamus, Pituitary gland, and Adrenal glands in the greater endocrine system. The image below illustrates the hormonal stress response.
 Cortisol, the so-called stress hormone, affects many areas of the body and if you have high levels of cortisol coursing through you continually, chronic stress, you run the risk of adrenal fatigue ultimately, and even more common ailments of hypertension (high blood pressure), chronic fatigue, poor sleep (which fosters more cortisol to be released), excessive cravings, and mood swings to name only a few. Additionally, over time, high stress hormones make your body store fat, especially in your belly. High cortisol is also linked to depression, food addiction, and craving high-sugar foods. In other words, stress can make you fat. To make the situation even more complex, if you are under chronic stress, your hormones shift. Stress in a way pulls the hormone synthesis within the adrenal gland away from converting the master hormone (pregnenolone) into all the various hormones (DHEA, Testosterone, Estrogen, Progesterone and Cortisol) by stealing it's efforts and forcing it to only make Cortisol. This is called the Pregnegalone or Cortisol Steal.  So the longer you remain stressed, the more cortisol you will continue to make at the DETRIMENT of your other hormones! The interesting catch here is that having high cortisol for too long means that you can ultimately have low cortisol as well - even high and low cortisol at the same time, on the same day. Is your mind blown yet? The big take away is that chronic stress leads to many health issues, weight gain, chronic illness, and a reduction in your overall health status.How to Manage Stress and mitigate the effects of high cortisol? In my next post I will share with you the lifestyle interventions and targeted supplementation to help Cool the Cortisol Fire! In health! Jenniferlyn Kryvicky, MS, CFSPP, CHHC Certified Functional Nutritionist |
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